Personal Statement: A Career As A Counselor

At first, I did not want to become a counselor because I was not sure what it meant to be a counselor and I was not sure if I had the right skills to be a good counselor, but mostly, I was scared that I might say the wrong thing or use the wrong treatment plan for the client, and there will be serious negative consequences after. Also, at that time I did not know anyone who was a counselor to help me to get better understanding of the field. However, it was not until one of my own family members started to go to counseling then did I start see the benefits that a counselor can bring to a person’s life. In that one moment, it made me wonder if I should consider this field as a future possibility for me. Another big reason why I decided to become …show more content…
Some of the questions that my cousins asked me is how much longer do I have to be in school in order to become a counselor, and when will I get a job. The reasons why they asked me these questions are because they do not like school and studying and also they are already established in their employment. So they want to know when I will be doing the same. The second set of questions that I usually receive is from my aunt who continuously ask me how much money will I earn from being a counselor, and if I can diagnose and treat people. I usually respond to her question concerning my future salary is that counselors do not make a lot of money if one compares it to the salary of a psychologist and/or a psychiatrist, and there are other factors that determine salary like if I decide if I want to work with the criminal justice system or if I want to work in the private sector. However, the best reaction that I ever received is from my mom who gave me all of her support from day one. She said that she will support me in whatever I decide I want to …show more content…
All of us have biases and/or negative beliefs that we do not know about because some of these biases are so ingrained into society that we do not think twice about it. So in order to be an effective counselor, one must look at how these biases and/or negative beliefs might affect the way the counselor understands the problems that the counselor is going through and create a treatment plan for the client. These biases and/or negative beliefs might also affect the way that the counselor speaks to the client and how far the counselor is willing to help the client. Another important skill that a counselor needs to be effective in his or her job is the ability to reflective listen. There will be times when the client wants to say something that is important to him or her and might not know how to say it. So the job of the counselor is take what the client says and put it in a way that the client will understand and is still true to the client’s words. A counselor can learn a lot more about his or her client this way compared to when the counselor is doing all of the talking. Also, strengthen the bond between the client and counselor which might cause the client to be more open to the